She has Cancer
Clary arched her back in an attempt to loosen the corset currently strangling her entire body. She pulled at the tight fabric that clung to her, hoping she would rip it and get to wear jeans and a t-shirt instead. "Do I really have to wear this? Jace said this party was casual."
Magnus scoffed. "Casual for everyone else, yes. But you are the guest of honour. You need to stand out and look fabulous next to all those casually dressed idiots."
"It's not that I don't like the dress," Clary said defensively, adjusting the large hoop skirt that sat at her waist. "It's a lovely dress."
Magnus raised his eyebrows at her, looking at her through the mirror. "But?"
Clary sighed as deeply as she was able. Which was actually a very shallow sigh. "But I can't breathe. Is a floor length ball gown really necessary for me to be the guest of honour?"
Magnus 'aww'ed sympathetically, patting Clary on the shoulder. "Yes, it is. Now come on."
Magnus led Clary out of her enormous closet and helped her waddle up the stairs. She found that instead of lifting the hoop skirt, it was easier to just lean back at such an obscene angle she would almost fall over. And if she did fall, the sweet release of death seemed like a nice alternative over the corset.
Once they had reached the top of the stairs, Magnus flung the door open, one hand on Clary's back to keep her from tumbling down the stairs to her death.
"Surprise!" someone yelled.
"Maia, this isn't a surprise party," Jace mumbled, nudging her with his elbow.
"Oh," the girl slumped her shoulders, as though she was actually disappointed.
Clary waddled up the last step, trying not to fall over. She failed.
Jace leaped forward, catching her in his arms before helping her find her balance. "Magnus, couldn't you at least give her a more modern dress? Was the hoop skirt really necessary?"
"Or the corset," Clary wheezed, trying once again to rip the tight, stiff fabric from her body.
"Lunch is ready," someone called from the kitchen, forcing everyone's eyes away from Clary and down the hallway, her suffering forgotten over the thought of food.
Clary tried her best to waddle breathlessly towards the kitchen by herself before a hand came to steady her.
"Don't worry," Maia said, helping her walk. "I got you." The girl was a few inches taller than Clary, with kind brown eyes and a gorgeous smile. Her curly hair was pulled back into two high buns at the top of her head. "I'm Maia by the way," she said.
"Clary."
The two girls shook hands awkwardly as they walked/waddled into the kitchen, where Alec stood at the island pouring a pot of green beans into a dish, James strapped to his stomach in a baby backpack. He smiled when everyone came in, leaning forward to fix on of the plates on the other side of the island, accidentally shoving the baby's face straight into the green beans.
"Alec!" Magnus squealed, going to straighten his husband and pull the baby out of the small pouch, pulling a green bean from his nose. "Please be careful. Green isn't his colour."
Alec squinted at Clary as she entered the room, taking in her unnecessarily extravagant gown. "Why?" he asked, gesturing to all of her.
"She's the guest of honour," Magnus growled.
Alec put his hands up in defeat, rolling his eyes, obviously not caring enough to argue.
Once everyone was in the kitchen, a tall boy with dark hair reached for a plate, but his hand was smacked away by a smaller woman with a severe face and a giant cross around her neck. "Jordan! Jesus first, food second."
Jordan sighed, looking mournfully at the food.
"That's my boyfriend," Maia whispered to Clary giddily, as though she was still excited that they were dating. "And the Jesus lady is Maryse, Alec's mom."
Maia continued to give Clary the names of all the other guests as Maryse began to chant in what Clary could only assume was ancient Latin. There was Alec's father, Robert. Max, Alec's little brother, his sister Isabelle and her friend Simon, (whom Clary thought looked suspiciously familiar, but then again she knew a lot of Jews.) Next to Simon, standing suspiciously close to him, was Magnus's close friend and business partner, Raphael.
She tried her best to remember all the names as they were thrown at her in a quiet whisper over the loud sound of Maryse's escalating chanting, which was slowly becoming less a chant and more an interpretive dance.
A shrill cry cut through the chant, forcing Maryse to stop, standing from her weird squatting position to glare at the baby.
"I got it!" Clary volunteered, snatching the baby from Magnus's arms and waddling out of the room as fast as she could.
"I'll help!" Jace said, a bit too loudly, following her out of the room just as Maryse's chanting continued.
The loud religious cries finally faded behind them as they made their way down the hall towards the basement door. Once they were finally out of earshot, as if on queue, the baby stopped crying.
"Do you think I have enough time to change?" she asked Jace, shoving James into his arms.
He struggled to hold him at first, trying to figure out where to put his hands or whether the baby should be facing up or down. "Oh yeah, you've got at least another twenty minutes before she even gets to the prayer part."
Clary reached over, helping him settle the baby in a comfortable position where it wasn't half thrown over Jace's shoulder. "This isn't even the prayer part?"
Jace shook his head, finally deciding to just grab the baby by the back of the onesie and carry it like a suitcase. "No, right now she's cleansing the house of all demonic spirits. Hopefully we'll miss the part with the bells and the candles."
Jace grabbed Clary by the waist, carrying her down the stairs with one arm as he clutched the baby with the other.
"So," she mumbled, not sure how to ask what was on her mind. "What's wrong with Maia?"
"Right!?" Jace exclaimed, obviously glad that someone else besides him said it. "I swear, she's a psychopath."
"She seemed so nice," Clary mumbled as Jace set her down at the bottom of the stairs. "But I could see the crazy in her eyes."
"She's definitely a psychopath," Jace agreed.
"Or a serial killer," Clary countered.
"Maybe she has personality cancer."
"Maybe she's just a cancer in general."
"I bet she touches children," Jace mumbled.
"I bet she eats children," Clary retorted playfully.
Jace chuckled, hoisting the baby back into his arms, this time actually holding him somewhat properly. Clary waddled over to her closet, ripping pieces of the dress off as she went. The hoop skirt was the first to go, followed by the actual dress, then the pantaloons.
"Do you need help with that?" Jace asked as they finally made it to the closet. He admired Clary's legs while she struggled to reach behind and undo the corset. "Getting women naked is kind of my specialty."
She snorted, a shallow sound that sounded more like a desperate gasp for breath. "Yeah, good luck taking off a complicated corset one hande—oh wow, that was fast." Clary looked down at her now-naked body, completely unashamed, admiring Jace's handiwork. She took a deep breath and smiled. "Well, I'm going to go put on some sweatpants."
"Wait, Clary," Jace called as she turned away. "Here's your panties." He handed them to her, trying his best to hide the intense blush in his cheeks. James giggled in his arms, as though he knew exactly what Jace was thinking.
Once Clary was changed into a pair of blue sweats and a plain white t-shirt, she took the baby from Jace and they headed back upstairs. Jace made a point to walk behind Clary up the stairs, mumbling something about having a nice view.
They reached the kitchen just in time for the end of Maryse's chanting and the beginning of what Clary could only assume would be a very long prayer.
Magnus nudged Clary, scowling down at her outfit.
She held up the baby, hoping he would fill in the blanks, assume there was some kind of awful diarrhea accident that had forced her to change. Magnus seemed to believe it, moving his narrowed eyes from Clary to his son, making eye contact with the baby and slashing two fingers across his throat.
"Amen," Maryse called out, a little too loudly, doing an elaborate bow.
Jordan lunged for a plate, cutting everyone in line as he piled cold food onto his plate. Clary followed behind him, her pile twice as high as his.
Everyone sat together at the table, Clary at the head, (for some reason) and Jace sat beside her. The baby sat on her other side, silently stuffing his whole fist into his mouth and sucking on it.
"So Jace," Maryse asked casually, cutting her green beans with a large steak knife. "When will you finally settle down and start a family of your own?"
Jace's eyes widened in panic. He stuffed his mouth with food, taking his time to chew and swallow. "I have a family," he said, his voice tight. "And I love you all very much," he smiled, obviously hoping someone would change the subject.
"Don't try that shit with me," she hissed back. "I want grandchildren!"
Isabelle stood from her seat, a slight smile on her face. "I'm pregnant," she said.
"I'm not surprised," Maryse muttered, not taking her eyes off Jace.
"I'm only 26," Jace said, ignoring Isabelle as she sat down and started to silently cry into her hands. "Why do you want me to get married so badly? You and Robert didn't get married until you were almost 30!"
"Yes, but I knew that I would be able to find someone who would love me. You are not in the same boat."
Clary choked on her food, glancing at Jace sympathetically, but he just rolled his eyes, obviously not bothered by his mother's comments. "Lots of women love me," he muttered.
"Oh really," Maryse scoffed.
"I mean…" Jace paled, his forehead glistening with sweat. "I'm a virgin."
Maryse's eyes finally left Jace, moving across the table to Alec. "Maybe I should ask the one son who is always honest with me. Alec, is Jace telling the truth?"
Alec turned an interesting shade of green, dropping his fork onto the table. "Yes," he said, and Jace wished he had stopped there. "Jace is so pure, he's like a set of brand new white sheets. He has never before experienced quoitus with another nor by his own hand. He has never brought an unknown woman back to his bed, nor has he joined her in hers. He has never had such amazing drunk intercourse with an unknown female almost a year ago that he still talks about her to this day. He is, indeed, untouched." Alec finally stopped talking. He seemed out of breath from his unnecessary monologue, giving Jace a confident thumbs up, as though he honestly thought his lie was convincing.
Maryse pushed out her chair, her eyes turning back to her other son. "Jace, over my knee."
"What?" Jace shook his head. "Mom, I'm a fully grown adult, you can't honestly—"
"Over. My. Knee."
Jace whimpered, standing from his chair and bending over his mother's knee while she unfastened his belt and pulled down his pants to expose his butt.
Clary had never seen a more perfect ass.
She shoved more food in her mouth as she watched Maryse spank Jace repeatedly with his leather belt, leaving harsh red marks on his skin.
She looked around at everyone else at the table, expecting to see a mix of shocked and excited faces, but everyone just kept eating their dinner, looking almost bored, as though this happened every day.
Once Maryse was finally done, Jace stood, pulling up his pants. He wiped a single tear from his eye. "You're not even my real mom!" he whined, scurrying upstairs to his room like a small child.
The table was silent for several moments. Finally, Isabelle sobbed loudly. "Does anyone care that I'm pregnant?"
Maryse reached over the table and stole a chicken leg from her plate. "Not really."
Isabelle sighed. "Fine, you got me. I'm not pregnant, I just wanted all of you to pay attention to me."
"Okay Isaac now eat your oats."
Hope you enjoyed this chapter because we sure had a fun time writing it. Please be sure to leave a review and let us know your predictions for where this story is going!
xoxo
-R&A